The Perfect Hefe?

First of all, Mom, you’re not going to like this one. My mother usually reads my blogs but she doesn’t like the ones that talk about all the intricacies of a well crafted beer. She’d rather read a good story. June was for you Mom, July is for the beer geeks.

I cannot get enough of this Schell Hefeweizen. I do not recall if I have ever had this before but it’s very impressive. I have to admit, I often overlook beers from Schell. They put out a consistent product in each of their offerings but I am guilty of American consumerism; always looking for something big and bold. I am going to try and change that. This past weekend I had a Summit ESB and I thought it was amazing. That’s another beer I wouldn’t usually seek out but it’s all that dad had in the fridge. I will certainly be seeking it out now. But this blog is about Schell. As I said, I usually don’t go to the store looking for Schell beers. I’ve enjoyed their 150th Anniversary beers and I usually get antsy for their Snowstorm which changes each winter but that’s about it. I do like Firebrick in a pinch, in fact I used to drink Firebrick a lot when I was converting from macros to craft. But, as I started to discover all the new flavors and styles I started to lose interest. I started to drink mostly ales and stopped giving lagers a chance. How small of me. At any rate, a post on BeerAdvocate this month brought this beer to the forefront of my mind. Being a fan of this style I decided I needed to try it. I visited Sean at the Four Firkins one day and got the last six pack. What did I think? Well…

This beer pours a beautiful cloudy golden-yellow color. A nice big frothy head that dissipates quickly to a small bed that covers and retains nicely throughout. Most brewers get the appearance right but this just keeps getting better. The aroma is amazing. The yeast gives off the characteristic banana esters and clove phenolics that any good hefe will but this one’s perfect. Not too much of either and just a tad more clove than banana. To me that makes a hefe. More banana than clove and I feel like it’s off a bit. Either way the two should be balanced. The aroma is so delicate and perfumey it’s just absolutely inviting. The flavor you ask? There is a wonderful grainy breadyness to it and no hop presence as expected. In line with the aroma there are plenty yeasty flavors present. How can this get any better? Well, we haven’t talked about mouthfeel and this is where the perfect hefe comes full circle. The body is light and carbonation pleasantly effervescent. The one thing that I notice that really sets this apart is the aftertaste. There is none, it finishes dry and crisp with none of that residual astringency that I am so used to getting from a Hefeweizen. You know that lingering tartness on the sides of your mouth? This really improves the drinkability. As a certified beer judge, I have never scored anything above a 45 (50 being perfect) but I would be tempted to throw a big old Five Oh on this scoresheet. This is one beautifully crafted beer and they should erect monuments in its honor.

Congrats goes out to the August Schell Brewing Co in the 2009 US Open Beer Championship
#4 Brewery overall
Silver in the Stout category (Schell Stout)
Gold in Kolsch (Zommerfest)
Gold in German Hefeweizen (Schell Hefe)
Gold in German Pilsener (Schell Pilsner)
Bronze in Bock (Maifest)
Gold in American Cream Ale (Deer Brand Original)

Prost!

P.S. How do you like the BREWTUS pilsner glass? I do not frequent Applebee’s much anymore but this glass is special. Nearly 13 years old, this is the glass I had my first “legal” beer in on my 21st birthday. Hey, Sioux Falls didn’t have much to choose from and I was still sadly in my macro heyday.